Conference 21 – 2014 Case: 01 20150415

Canine herpesvirus is a fatal, viral infection of puppies worldwide. Historically, most of the infectious diseases characterized in snakes were reported to have a bacterial origin. To compare the effects of T-2 toxin against a known immunosuppressive drug, cyclophosphamide was injected intraperitoneally at 150 mg/kg, 24 hours after treatment with HSV-1, into mice fed the control diet. Multifocally, there is occasional capillary endothelial hypertrophy. The next day, several were found dead and 20 others were sick. Multifocally, vessels within the affected gray and white matter and leptomeninges are mildly congested, lined by reactive endothelium and cuffed by many lymphocytes and plasma cells and fewer macrophages. There were small numbers of petechiae on the endocardium of the heart.

The clinical course and character of the lesion is suggestive of the necrotizing meningoencephalitis recently described in Maltese dogs. The puppy was vaccinated with Durammune-5, a combination vaccine against canine distemper, canine adenovirus 2, canine parainfluenza virus, and canine parvovirus at approximately 1 pm. Deaths due to CHV infection usually occur in puppies 1-3 wk old, occasionally in puppies up to 1 mo old, and rarely in pups as old as 6 mo. To date, there has been no specific treatment recommendation for ophidian herpes virus infections, although acyclovir may be used to suppress infections. The infrequent isolation of virus from liver and brain was consistent with the lack of intranuclear inclusion bodies and a more marked inflammatory response. Radostits OM, Gay CC, Hinchcliff KW, et al. Multifocally within the grey and white matter, low numbers of lymphocytes and fewer plasma cells expand Virchow-Robin space.

Inflammatory Diseases of the Central Nervous System. The liver contains numerous foci of centrilobular to midzonal necrosis with occasional extension of necrosis from one centrilobular area to another (bridging necrosis). The etiology of necrotizing meningoencephalitis is unknown. Neighboring endothelial cells are enlarged (reactive). Most often there is no inflammatory reaction. Affected snakes may have nasal discharge and purulent hemorrhagic discharge from the glottis. Similar but less extensive lesions are observed in meninges and cerebral cortex.